Set in 1885, the film follows a bank robber, whose partner reluctantly abandoned him during a showdown between them and Mexican mounted police forces, who escapes a Mexican prison with a fellow cellmate as they travel to Monterey, California with a couple of men to rob a bank as well as get revenge on his former partner. It is a film that explores a man who felt cheated by his former partner who had ended up making a decent life for himself as a sheriff in Monterey while he spends five years in prison waiting to get revenge. The film’s screenplay by Guy Trosper and Calder Willingham, with un-credited contributions from Sam Peckinpah and Rod Serling, follows the journey that Rio goes through as he is first seen taking part of a bank robbery with his partner Dad Longworth (Karl Malden) and another robber in Doc (Hank Worden) in Mexico that is successful until Rio and Longworth are chased by the mounted police as they’re stuck on a hill with Longworth leaving to get new horses yet he never returned as Rio gets captured and spent five years in a prison which he would escape with Chico Modesto (Larry Duran).
Upon meeting Bob Emory (Ben Johnson) and his partner Harvey Johnson (Sam Gilman), Rio and Modesto travel to Monterey, California upon learning that Longworth is the sheriff in the town as he has married a Mexican woman in Maria (Katy Jurado) who has a daughter of her own in Louisa (Pina Pellicer). Though the plan is to rob the bank in Monterey, Rio decides to meet Longworth without stating his intentions while falling for Louisa as he spends time with her during a fiesta the next day. Yet, things get complicated where Longworth learn about what the two did where Rio gets punished as he and his gang are forced to leave as they shelter themselves in a beachside village as it plays into Rio’s sense of uncertainty about wanting to rob a bank. Even as Maria learns more about her husband’s past as well as what happened with Rio and Louisa that would complicate matters.
Marlon Brando’s direction is filled with gorgeous compositions as it is shot on various locations in California with Big Sur and the Monterey Peninsula being key locations along with Sonora, Mexico for the scenes set in Mexico including its mountains. Brando’s approach to wide and medium shots add to the beauty of these locations with all of these meticulous attention to detail in the ocean waves that Brando captures to play into a world that feels new to Rio as it is also this escape from the rugged nature of Mexico that Longworth wants to leave behind. Brando also maintains some intimacy in the close-ups and medium shots in the first meeting in five years between Rio and Longworth as it play into the tension as Brando creates unique compositions in these moments. Notably in Rio’s infatuation towards Louisa as he would say some lies in order to woo her but eventually realize that she’s a good young woman whom he doesn’t want to take advantage of.
By the time the film moves into the second half where the tension between Rio and Longworth come to ahead despite the former’s action in saving a woman who is being abused by a man. It would allow Longworth to punish Rio in front of the town as revelations occur as it relates to Rio’s original intentions as he retreats to the beach as regrets come into play along with other revelations as it relates to Rio’s love for Louisa. Even as Maria begins to piece out Longworth’s issue with Rio during the film’s third act where a showdown would occur where the idea of vengeance shifts towards guilt with Rio realizing of what Longworth is trying to hold on to that only makes Longworth much worse. Overall, Brando crafts an exhilarating and mesmerizing film about a gunslinger going after his former partner for abandoning him following a bank robbery.
Cinematographer Charles Lang Jr. does incredible work with the film’s cinematography with its usage of Technicolor film stock to capture the beauty of the exteriors in the beaches and mountains while John P. Fulton provides some special photographic effects for some scenes on the beach as backdrops for a few of the film’s conversations including one between Rio and Louisa. Editor Archie Marshek does excellent work with the editing with its usage of straight cuts to play into the suspense and drama as well as knowing when to allow shots to linger to help amp up the suspense. Art directors Hal Pereira and J. McMillan Johnson, with set decorators Sam Comer and Robert Benton, do amazing work with the look of Monterey as well as the cantina in Sonora where Rio and Longworth went to after the robbery early in the film. Costume designer Yvonne Wood does fantastic work with the costumes in the dresses that the women wear along with the ragged look of Rio as well as the refined look that Longworth has as sheriff.
The makeup work of Yvonne Wood and Wally Westmore, with hair stylist Nellie Manley, do terrific work with the makeup from Longworth’s rugged look early in the film to the mustache he would have as sheriff as well as the look that Rio would have including the aftermath of a beating he would take from Longworth. The sound work of Hugo and Charles Grenzbach do superb work with the sound as it play into the natural elements as well as the sounds of gunfire from afar or up close. The film’s music by Hugo Friedhofer is wonderful for its bombastic orchestral score as it plays into the sense of adventure and suspense as the soundtrack also include a flamenco piece for a key moment in the fiesta sequence.
The film’s marvelous ensemble cast feature some notable small roles from Mina Martinez as a young woman Rio flirts with early in the film following the bank robbery, William Forrest as a bartender in Monterey, Hank Worden as Rio and Longworth’s robbery partner Doc, Philip Ahn as the owner of a beach hostel where Rio would recover in the film’s third act, Ray Teal and John Dierkes as a couple of deputies, Joe Dominguez as a corral owner, Tom Webb as the corral owner’s son, Joan Petrone as a flower vendor Rio flirts with to buy her necklace, Rodolfo Acosta as a Rurales captain, Margarita Cordova as the flamenco dancer, Timothy Carey as a local from Monterey who would be pushy towards the dancer at a bar, Miriam Colon as Longworth’s lover from Sonora whom Rio would meet five years later, and Elisha Cook Jr. as the banker who runs the bank at Monterey that Rio considers robbing. Sam Gilman is terrific as Harvey Johnson as a gunslinger Rio meets in Mexico as he is eager to rob a bank while Larry Duran is fantastic as Rio’s prison mate Chico Modesto who is sort of the film’s conscience as he is willing to help Rio while also knowing the conflict he’s dealing with.
Pina Pellicer is excellent as Louisa as Longworth’s step-daughter who falls for Rio though she is unsure about his intentions while learning about why he’s in Monterey where she begins to see things about Longworth that makes her uncomfortable. Slim Pickens is brilliant as Longworth’s deputy Lon Derrick as a man who doesn’t like Rio while is also infatuated with Louisa despite the fact that she thinks he’s a total creep. Ben Johnson is amazing as Bob Amory as a gunslinger Rio meets in Mexico who joins him on their journey to Monterey while also being someone who has issues with Rio over when to do the robbery as often finds a way to push Rio’s buttons. Katy Jurado is incredible as Longworth’s wife Maria as a woman who is given a great life in her marriage to Longworth only to become suspicious about Rio where revelations about Longworth’s past has her questioning things while discovering some things about Louisa’s relationship with Rio.
Karl Malden is phenomenal as Sheriff Dad Longworth as Rio’s former partner who had abandoned Rio following a showdown between him and Mexican mounted police forces as he creates a new life for himself only to deal with Rio where he is filled with guilt but also not wanting to reveal his own dark past that would eventually alienate him from his family. Finally, there’s Marlon Brando in a tremendous performance as Rio as a bank robber who seeks revenge on his former partner as he is hell-bent on getting revenge until he meets Louisa which complicates things. Brando brings this sense of restraint as a man that is conflicted in his actions but is also someone who is seeking justice of his own while also realizing the complications he is dealing with in his revenge plot as it is one of Brando’s finest performances.
One-Eyed Jacks is a sensational film from Marlon Brando that features incredible performances from Brando, Karl Malden, Katy Jurado, Slim Pickens, Ben Johnson, and Pina Pellicer. Along with its gorgeous visuals, its unconventional study of vengeance and guilt, and an exhilarating music score. The film is a fascinating western that doesn’t play by many of its tropes in favor of exploring the path of two men who were once partners as it leads to this eerie world of vengeance and the revelations of how the past can affect someone’s future. In the end, One-Eyed Jacks is a spectacular film from Marlon Brando.
© thevoid99 2023
Based on the 1932 film directed by Howard Hawks and screenplay by Ben Hecht from a novel by Armitage Trail, Scarface is the story of a Cuban refugee who arrives to Miami in 1980 where he works his way to the top to become a drug kingpin and later fall. Directed by Brian De Palma and screenplay by Oliver Stone, the film is a wild look into the burgeoning drug culture of the 1980s in Miami as it chronicles a man who is eager to own the world and everything else in it. Playing the role of Tony Montana is Al Pacino in one of his most defining performances of his career. Also starring Steven Bauer, Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert Loggia, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, F. Murray Abraham, Harris Yulin, and Paul Shenar. Scarface is a fucking wild and operatic film from Brian De Palma.
The film is a rise-and-fall tale in which a Cuban exile in Tony Montana as he arrives in Miami as part of the Mariel boatlift of 1980 with some of his friends as he starts off as a small hood for the drug dealer Frank Lopez (Robert Loggia) to becoming the top drug dealer of Miami as he yearns to own the world and everything else in it. The film takes place in a period where the cocaine trade in the early 80s was starting to rise involving Latin American drug dealers as they rose to the top where Tony Montana is part of that world as he decides to go for something much bigger as he kills, schemes, and does everything to get to the top. Along the way, there’s sacrifices and such where he would have allies and later enemies that would play to his downfall as well as his growing addiction to cocaine.
Oliver Stone’s screenplay definitely takes the idea of the rise-and-fall of a drug dealer to showcase a world in which a man starts off at the bottom and work his way to the top. While his journey doesn’t make Montana a honest man, it does give him some ounce of respect in the way he does things as well as making deals and such. The people around Montana like his best friend Manny Ribera (Steven Bauer), Lopez’s mistress Elvira (Michelle Pfeiffer), and his young sister Gina (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) would all play part in Montana’s rise-and-fall as they would help in his journey but also would experience downfalls of their own. There is a complexity to Stone’s script as he explores this man’s sense of ambition where Montana is given a set of rules by Lopez of how to do things but Montana would go way overboard as it would lead to his downfall.
It’s not just the structure of Stone’s script that helps flesh out the formula of the rise-and-fall but also the dialogue which is very confrontational and very frank as it features 187 uses of the word “fuck”. It’s all very stylized as it plays to a world where it’s very seedy and unforgiving as Montana is very upfront that he’s not a nice guy and he can admit that he lies. Yet, it’s part of his flaws as he would take credit for his own rise as he would be his own undoing through a series of bad decisions, paranoia, and selfishness that would also be driven by his own escalating addiction to cocaine.
The direction of Brian de Palma is very grand and operatic as it plays to a period of decadence where people go to discos, do cocaine, have sex in bathrooms, and do all sorts of crazy shit. While de Palma does create some interesting compositions including Montana’s interrogation scene where there’s an eerie intimacy to that scene as well as a few other scenes. There’s also an element of suspense where de Palma just build things up very slowly where it will have some kind of violent conclusion. It is all part of de Palma wanting to create something that is gritty and realistic but also not be afraid to exaggerate things. Notably some very gruesome moments where Montana is forced to watch one of his friends be killed by a chainsaw.
It’s not just the film’s violence that is excessive and operatic that includes the film’s climatic showdown between Montana and a Colombian cartel. It’s also the world that de Palma sets up as he uses some very stylish crane shots and other camera tricks to play up this world of decadence. Even in a montage to establish Tony’s rise where it is quite excessive from the clothes the characters wear to the cars that they drive as well as the fact that Montana has two tigers as pets. Still, there is that sense of intrigue and danger in the third act where de Palma goes all out and more as it includes some very chilling moments where Montana is clearly hitting his bottom as well as the fate that is set for him. Overall, de Palma creates an outrageous and confrontational film about greed and ambition in the eyes of a man named Tony Montana.
Cinematographer John A. Alonzo does amazing work with the film’s colorful cinematography from the very sunny, colorful look of Miami’s exteriors and beaches to some scenes set in Los Angeles as part of South America as well as some of the dark interiors to set the chilling mood for the film. Editors Jerry Greenberg and David Ray do excellent work with the editing to create a very stylish approach to the cutting from the rhythm of the violence and some montages to some slower cuts in the film’s suspenseful moments. Production designer Ferdinando Scarfiotti, with set decorator Bruce Weintraub and art director Edward Richardson, does fantastic work with the look of the mansions the characters stay in to the Babylon club that definitely has an air of excess.
Costume designer Patricia Norris does wonderful work with the costumes from the stylish dresses the women wear to the colorful suits the guys wear to play up that decade of decadence. Sound editor Edward Beyer does superb work with the sound from the way the gunfire sounds to some of the chilling moments in the film. The film’s score by Giorgio Moroder is brilliant for its eerie, electronic-driven score filled with some ominous themes and arrangements to play up the sense of coldness in the world as well as some pieces to play up the world of decadence. The film’s soundtrack consists largely of music from pulsating synth-pop and disco from Elizabeth Daily, Paul Engemann, Beth Anderson, and Debbie Harry to a Latin-pop song from Maria Conchita Alonso.
The casting by Alixe Gordon is just phenomenal for the ensemble that was created for the film that would include a lot of memorable appearances for the actors that appeared in this film. Among these notable small roles include Pepe Serna and Angel Salazar as a couple of Tony’s friends in Angel Fernandez and Chi Chi, Mark Margolis as Sosa’s devious henchman Alberto, Geno Silva as Sosa’s assassin the Skull, Richard Belzer as a comedian at the Babylon Club, Miriam Colon as Tony’s mother who despises Tony, Michael Alldredge as Tony’s banker George Sheffield, Harris Yulin as the corrupt detective Mel Bernstein, and Paul Shenar as the Colombian drug lord Alejandro Sosa who becomes an ally of Tony’s until an assignment gone wrong leads to trouble.
F. Murray Abraham is terrific as Lopez’s henchman Omar Suarez who is wary about Montana as he is uneasy about Montana’s ambition. Robert Loggia is great as the crime boss Frank Lopez as a man who is full of wisdom as well as being a fun guy who later feels threatened by Tony’s ambition as he tries to warn him about what will happen. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio is wonderful as Tony’s sister Gina who is intrigued by the world of excess as she becomes an object of affection for Manny despite Tony’s over protectiveness towards her. Michelle Pfeiffer is amazing as Lopez’s mistress Elvira who later becomes Tony’s wife as a woman who knows a lot more than everyone else as she later succumbs to her own drug addiction. Steven Bauer is superb as Tony’s friend Manny who is a man that wants to have fun and enjoy the good life while wanting to do things to help out as he later becomes alienated by Tony’s ambition and paranoia.
Finally, there’s Al Pacino in one of his most iconic performances of his career as Tony Montana. The film has Pacino go all out and more as a man who is willing to do whatever it takes to succeed. It’s a performance that is full of swagger, bravado, humor, and extremely confrontational. Pacino not only is given some of the best one-liners of all-time but he really means it when he says those things. It’s also him just commanding the moment including the film’s final shootout with Sosa’s men as he utters out some of the best one-liners ever as it’s a role that only he can play.
Scarface is a magnificent film from Brian de Palma featuring an outstanding performance from Al Pacino. Along with a great supporting cast, a cool soundtrack, and a wild script by Oliver Stone. It’s a film that is still wild nearly 30 years since its release as it still holds up and more. Filled with lots of dead bodies, mountains of cocaine, 187 “fucks”, and lots of more crazy shit. It’s a film that is very unapologetic in being excessive and extravagant. In the end, Scarface is a triumphant achievement from Brian de Palma.
Related: Scarface (1932 film)
Brian De Palma Films: (Murder a la Mod) - (Greetings) - (The Wedding Party) - (Dionysus in ‘69) - (Hi Mom!) - (Get to Know Your Rabbit) - Sisters - Phantom of the Paradise - Obsession - Carrie - The Fury - (Home Movies) - Dressed to Kill - Blow Out - Body Double - (Wise Guys) - The Untouchables - Casualties of War - The Bonfire of the Vanities - Raising Cain - Carlito’s Way - Mission: Impossible - Snake Eyes - Mission to Mars - Femme Fatale - The Black Dahlia - (Redacted) - Passion (2012 film) - (Domino (2018 film)
© thevoid99 2013
